Beneath the Jellicle Moon
by Martes Pennanti
Summary: Ever wonder why Grizabella left the Jellicle tribe? How Macavity became the Napoleon of Crime? And what Demeter's connection with him is? Or how Mr. Mistoffelees discovered his magical powers? The answers to these mysterious questions are found in a story - a story full of adventure, romance, drama, friendship, and, of course, cats! Rating will go up later on.
1. Prologue

**A**/**N**: I've been developing this story for little over a year now, but have finally posted the first chapter. _Beneath the Jellicle Moon_ is my epic version of the events that occurred leading up the the infamous Jellicle Ball, as shown in the 1998 television movie, that shaped all the cats of the junkyard to be the way we know them today. There will also be two sequels, making this a trilogy. I'm a bit of a slow writer but I'll try to update regularly. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Shout out to all the Cats writers on this board (too many to name) who have helped to inspire me with their wonderfully creative and imaginative stories about our favorite Jellicle cats. This story is for all of you. God bless you all!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cats or any of its characters. That is the honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Film Group. I just like telling stories about them.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Prologue<strong>

It was a moonlit night. The dark, misty fog rolling in through the city of London gave the busy metropolis a mysterious and eerie feel. Sounds of traffic, people shouting, ships rolling in at the dock by the River Thames, were just some of the sounds that could be heard among the hustle and bustle of the huge city's nighttime activity. But nobody took time to notice a tabby cat, battered and covered in blood, shuffling down a lonely street with two little bundles in tow.

This particular cat was very worried. It had only been last week that she was bursting with life, looking forward to greeting every sunrise and sunset with renewed energy and enthusiasm. But that all had changed that fateful night when she had gone on a trip to scavenge for food to feed her kits. She had been through alley after alley searching around in garbage cans, with only a moldy piece of Swiss cheese and a half of a tuna fish sandwich to pay for her efforts, and she was just about to give up and go back to her den. Unfortunately, she'd finally decided to check just one more alley way before giving it up. Just as she had rounded the corner she had run right into a pair of Pollicles, who had presumably been doing the same thing she had. At the sight of her, however, they completely forgot about what they had been doing previously and set their sights a cat dinner, even though she was thin around the ribs and wouldn't have made a very satisfying meal.

She had attempted to flee, but the dogs, disgusting saliva dripping from their jowls and thirsty for blood, had caught her and mauled her near to death. If it hadn't been for the nearby constable who was walking his beat and had scared the Pollicles off with his approach, she in all likelihood would most certainly be dead. Too scared to think properly, she had crawled on home with whatever strength she had had left, instead of waiting for the policeman to find her and possibly take her to a veterinarian. But it was too late for that now. She was dying, and the most important thing at the moment was to find a safe place for her two young kits.

The worried mother sighed as she looked down at her kittens. Both were very beautiful, and no doubt would grow up to be beautiful cats someday. The older one was a red queen with a white bib and a few dark patches. She had named her Bombalurina. Her younger sister, on the other hand, was black with streaks of gold, and was named Demeter. Bombalurina's eyes were already open, but Demeter's were still partially closed. Bombalurina kept her arm firmly around her little sister as they shuffled slowly after their mother, growing more and more tired every minute and longing to shut their eyes in sleep.

Neither one knew their mother was dying. They were too young to have helped her when she had dragged herself home beaten and bloodied, and their father had left way before they were born. The queen didn't want to shock her kittens with the ugly truth about her condition, and so neither Bombalurina nor Demeter was aware that this cold November night would change both their lives forever.

Passing a dress shop, a sidewalk cafe, and rounding a few more blocks, their destination finally came into sight: the Jellicle Junkyard, a large, seemingly abandoned junkyard with a steel fence built around its perimeter, nestled comfortably near a couple of apartment buildings. The queen, who's limited strength was beginning to run low and was starting to get concerned that her two kits wouldn't be able to make it, breathed a silent prayer of thanks to the Everlasting Cat for seeing her safely there. The Jellicles were the most powerful cat tribe in all of London. Her mother had been a Jellicle herself and had told her about the place when she had been quite young, too young to truly care at the time. Their leader was supposedly kind to outsiders, and the tabby queen had no doubt that her kittens would be well taken care of here.

With Bombalurina and Demeter right behind her, the queen walked up to the gate of the junkyard and pushed it open. All was dark and vacant inside. There was not a trace of life anywhere. The tabby assumed most of the Tribe members were sleeping in their dens. Seeing an open box lying not that far off at the bottom of a mound of trash, the queen walked over and peered inside. It wasn't too dirty but it didn't look too comfortable. She spotted a tattered, woolen blanket laying a little further up the mound. Using about all the strength she had left, she climbed up, fetched it, and put it at the bottom of the box.

Then, she picked up Bombalurina and Demeter, who looked about ready to collapse, and placed them gently into the box and smiled as they curled up next to each other and Bombalurina put her arm around her little sister.

The distraught mother fought back tears. This wasn't going to be easy what she now had to do.

"All right, sweeties." she whispered. First Bombalurina and then Demeter opened their eyes and looked up her. "Mummy has to go now. You'll be good for me, won't you?"

"Yes Mummy, of course." Bombalurina mewed sleepily, closing her eyes again immediately.

"Where you going, Mummy?" Demeter asked sweetly.

The queen smiled sadly, "I can't quite tell you that, dear." she replied in a wretched voice, "But I won't be coming back. Bomby," the mother cat said before Demeter could ask _why_ she wasn't coming back. "You take care of your sister now, you hear?"

Bombalurina smiled and draped her arm protectively over her little sister's shoulder, ""Don't worry, Mum." she said confidently, "I will."

Their mother sighed and smiled lovingly at them, "I love you both very much." she said quietly, "I wish we could have been together a lot longer." But the two kittens had already fallen asleep.

A tear welled up and spilled over as the heart-broken queen leaned forward and kissed them both gently on their temples. The two sisters stirred but did not wake. With one last look at her darlings, the queen withdrew her head from the box and, taking a deep breath, walked slowly and sadly out of the junkyard, never once looking back. Three days later, she died.

=^.^=

The next morning

Jennyanydots, a striped and spotted tabby cat, was sitting by herself on top of the TSE-1 car in the center of the Jellicle Junkyard. She had finished working with her mice and cockroaches about twenty minutes ago (the lessons had ran a bit late because one little mouse couldn't quite get her technique in crocheting down), and now she was waiting for her mate, Skimbleshanks, an orange tabby cat, to return from his shift on the midnight mail.

Her sister, Jellylorum, and her mate Asparagus, were busy in their den taking care of their new born kitten, a young, pure white queen named Victoria. The only other queen her age, Grizabella, commonly known as the Glamour Cat due to her exquisite beauty, was in her den taking her first of three daily beauty sleeps, and she was known to become very grouchy if anyone dared to disturb her. Grizabella's human owner happened to be a famous actress, so she had been introduced to show business at an early age and had become a showcat, traveling with her owner to various far off places to perform. As a result, Grizabella was often away from the junkyard for great lengths of time. Though Grizabella was one of the most beloved and beautiful queen in the tribe, she was self-centered and always too busy worrying about her outward appearance to take time for anyone else, like her mate Old Deuteronomy, who happened to be the tribe's patriarch and leader, and her three young tom-kits.

Jennyanydots shook her head as she thought about it. "If she keeps failing to parent them properly," She muttered to herself, "at least one of her kittens is going to turn out to be a rotten egg. I can guarantee that."

In a way, Jennyanydots envied Grizabella. Not for her fabulous beauty, though, but for her large family. Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks had never had any kittens of their own, even though they had wanted them greatly, and sometimes Jenny felt just the least little bit of jealousy towards Grizabella for having not just one but three kittens. She occasionally felt anger too, because the Glamour Cat did not appreciate her kits and didn't give them the attention required for raising them to be good and respectable cats.

"I'm home!" sounded a cheery Scottish-accented voice. Jennyanydots looked up and smiled as Skimbleshanks, dressed in his red waistcoat and pocket watch, came sauntering into the junkyard and jumped up to sit with her on the car. He flashed her a grin worthy of the Cheshire cat and gave her a hug, which she promptly returned.

He released her and his grin broadened. "Weel, hoo are ye this fine mornin'?" he asked, in his typical Scottish burr.

"I'm fine Skimble." She gave him a broad smile, but her demeanor didn't match her face. Skimbleshanks noticed this.

"Nothin' botherin' ye now, is there?" he asked, his smile drooping slightly and concern beginning to creep into his eyes.

Jennyanydots looked down sadly. "Well, Skimble. It's just that…I…I was just thinking…" She paused and Skimble patiently waited for her to continue. "…what a pity it is that we never had any kittens ourselves." Jenny saw an understanding look creep into her mate's eyes. "I mean, Jellylorum and Asparagus have Victoria, and they're older than we are. And Grizabella has three kits, if she would just take some time off to notice they exist and stop looking at herself in the mirror."

Skimble stifled a laugh at that remark and Jenny scowled. "It's not funny Skimble. You think as the mother of three kittens she would show some responsibility. Munkustrap is alright, but her oldest son is already the biggest lot of trouble in the junkyard."

Skimbleshanks recovered himself and spoke, "I'm sorry Jenny. I know that Grizabella ain't exactly "Cat Mither of the Year", but this conversation was originally aboot uz." Skimble gently placed his paw over hers. "Ye're sad cuz' we never had any wee kits of oor own now, right?"

Jennyanydots nodded, "Yeah, that's right. I just think it would have been nice to have heard the pitter patter of little feet around our den during the years we've been mated. It seems like an eternity has passed between when we became mates and this moment right now. We're not getting any younger you know." She finished with a sly grin.

The orange tabby huffed up. "Me? Auld? No way. I'm gettin' younger every day now. Ow!" Jenny punched him lightly in the arm. "That hurt. But seriously Jenny, we jus' have tae face the fact that oor chances o' havin' kits are probably over."

Jenny sighed. "I guess so, but just the same, it seems a crying shame that we are the only couple in the junkyard with no kittens. If you'll excuse me Skimble, I'm going to take a walk." Jennyanydots slid off of the TSE-1 car and walked slowly away towards the gate of the junkyard.

She hadn't gone far before she heard a strange high-pitched sound. She had keen hearing due to being a cat, and turned her sensitive ears toward the sound so she could hear better. It sounded like someone crying, and it sounded a lot like a young cat, possibly even a kitten. She moved her ears back and forth, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound and realized it was coming from a mound of junk right ahead of her.

Both curious and concerned, Jennyanydots hurried over to the mound and began to frantically shift through the trash looking for whoever was making the sound. It was a rather large pile and moving everything was harder than she had expected. Luckily, she had only been searching for about a minute before first Skimbleshanks and then Jellylorum came running up. Apparently their highly sensitive cat ears had also heard the strange sound and were coming to see what it was.

"What's going on, Jenny?" Jellylorum asked, confused.

"I heard a strange crying noise coming from this mound!" She explained. She was starting to become more frantic. "Help me look through all this garbage, will you? Someone might be injured or in trouble." Without having to ask twice the two cats immediately went to work tearing up trash and moving garbage helping her search for whoever-it-was they were looking for. All three of them made sure to stay clear of the larger objects that might cause the pile to collapse if moved.

Skimbleshanks and Jellylorum were just about to give up when Jennyanydots suddenly called from the north-east side of the mound, "I've found it!" Both Jellylorum and Skimbleshanks rushed over to Jennyanydots and found her peering into a box with an astonished look on her face. The two cats followed her gaze into the box and their mouths fell open at what they saw.

"Kittens!" they all cried at once.

"Great Caesar's Ghaist!" Skimbleshanks exclaimed.

Sure enough, inside the box there were two kittens, one older than the other. The older one, a red queen, was clutching her younger sister, who was the source of the sound as she was crying and gurgling. The red queen looked up at them in alarm.

"Hello." said Jennyanydots softly, kneeling down in front of the two kittens. "I'm Jennyanydots, and these are my friends Skimbleshanks and Jellylorum. What are your names?"

The red queen eyed her skeptically and turned slightly away. "My name is Bom-ba-lu-rina." She said slowly, pronouncing each syllable to make sure they understood. "And this is my baby sister De-met-er. I'm taking care of her for my mummy. She left."

At the mention of their mummy, her baby sister burst into tears, and not realizing what she said was the cause of her sister's distress, Bombalurina hissed and tufted out her fur at the adult cats. It looked so funny coming from a tiny kitten, the three of them had to remind themselves not to laugh.

"She left?" Jellylorum asked. The adult cats knew that it wasn't uncommon for mother cats to abandon their kits. "Why?"

Bombalurina still watched her suspiciously. "I don't know." She said shortly. "But she wasn't feeling good." Her little sister sniffled, and whimpered, "Mama."

"Ye know," said Skimbleshanks suddenly, "Ye could stay with uz in the junkyard here. It's a nice place really, an' we have 'ither kits like yerselves for ye tae play with." When Bombalurina hissed at them slightly, he quickly added, "We mean no harm. We're just concerned for ye is all." None of them could blame her though. After being left their mother she had no idea whether she and her sister were being kitnapped or not. But if they didn't get them to a safe place they could be found by the bands of Pollicles that were out hunting for food. Defenseless kits like them would make an easy meal.

The little kitten seemed to seriously consider his offer. She had been terrified when she had woken up and the reality had dawned on her that her mother wasn't coming back, and she was scared of being alone with only her sister for company. So, slowly and deliberately, she nodded her head in agreement.

=^.^=

Soon afterwards, Bombalurina and Demeter found themselves in Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks's den. Bombalurina quickly decided she liked the place, as did Demeter. It had an inviting and comfortable feeling to it (courtesy of Jennyanydots) that made the two sisters feel at home. Skimbleshanks had gone out to fetch Old Deuteronomy and had left two sisters in the more-than capable care of Jennyanydots and Jellylorum, who watched amused as the two kittens examined the den with intense fascination. Jennyanydots observed the little kittens closely. They were really filthy from sleeping in out in the box all night and were in need of a cleaning. Jelly seemed to recognize the same thing, for after a few more seconds she sat down on the cushion the sisters were examining intently and said, "I think it's time you two had a bath."

Bombalurina looked up confused, "A bath? What's a bath?"

"You'll find out when you're having one." Jennyanydots chuckled, "Jelly, would you help me draw up a bath for these two young kits?"

Demeter was too small to bathe in a normal tub, so Jellylorum led her over to a large bowl on one side of the room and filling it with water, started to bathe her. Jennyanydots washed Bomba in the regular tub. Cats as a rule hate water, but Jenny had always kept the tub and fresh soap around so she could bathe the kittens if they got too dirty to lick clean.

Demeter, who's eyes had opened slightly more since last night, enjoyed every minute of her bath and giggled constantly, while her sister hated it and grumbled incessantly the entire time. Jennyanydots kept having to tell her, "Hold still. You'll never get clean if you don't hold still." Nevertheless, both sisters were relieved to be sparkling clean after the baths were finished and Jennyanydots and Jellylorum dried them off.

They had just barely finished when Skimbleshanks walked into the den, followed by Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella. Bombalurina thought the old tom looked benign and trustworthy, but eyed Grizabella suspiciously. She looked the kind of queen who would pick up kittens and squeeze them too hard and refuse to put them down. Demeter, on the other hand, thought Grizabella was the most stunningly beautiful queen she had ever seen in all her short life.

Old Deuteronomy looked down at the two sisters. "So these are the two little kits you were telling me about, Skimbleshanks?" he asked kindly.

"Aye. This one is Bombalurina, and this one is her wee sister Demeter."

"I am very pleased to meet such beautiful kittens as yourselves." Old Deuteronomy said in the sincerest voice you could imagine, causing the two sisters to blush. "My name is Deuteronomy. I'm the leader of this tribe. This is my mate, Grizabella."

Grizabella bowed her head slightly. "How do you do?" she said, kneeling down beside the two little kittens. "I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. I help Jellylorum and Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots here take care of the kittens."

Jennyanydots and Jellylorum weren't able to stifle their snorts of disagreement. What right did she have, of all cats, to claim she helped look out for the kittens when she barely had time enough for her own?

Grizabella gave the two queens a dirty look, and Skimbleshanks decided to speak up before an argument could ensue, "Hey, I've got an idea. How aboot a snack? Ye wouldn't a tad hungry now, would ye?"

This seemed to take everybody's minds off of what had just occurred. "Sure." Bombalurina said, sounding a lot happier. Demeter followed up by nodding her head eagerly.

"Very well." Said Jennyanydots, and picked them both up in her arms. "Come this way" She started toward the kitchen area of the den with Jellylorum, Skimbleshanks, and after a pause, Grizabella followed them.

Old Deuteronomy smiled. It seemed that the two sisters had just gotten themselves a new home and a new family.

Please review!


	2. Meeting the Jellicles

**A**/**N**: Okay, here's the second chapter. After this I've got to work on improving chapters 3-5, which I'll publish as soon as possible. Many of the adult cats we know from the musical will be no more than kittens at this point, but they _will_ grow up. Read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cats or any of its characters. That is the honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Film Group. I just like telling stories about them.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Meeting the Jellicles<strong>

While Bombalurina and Demeter were eating their snack, Jellylorum went out to spread the news around that the tribe now had two new members. Jellylorum was the kind of cat who could never keep news secret for long, and Jennyanydots was certain that it wouldn't be long before the entire junkyard, if not every cat in London knew about the two sisters' arrival. Old Deuteronomy went to help her while Grizabella insisted on going back to her den to finish her beauty sleep, saying she would come by later to see the two little queen-kits. This left Jenny and Skimble alone together with their new kittens.

"Jenny, may I speak to ye fer a moment?" Skimbleshanks inquired, looking oddly nervous and jittery all of a sudden. Jenny nodded and followed Skimble to the other side of the room where Bombalurina and Demeter couldn't hear.

"What's the matter, dear? You look concerned about something." Jennyanydots asked.

"I'm worried, Jenny. D'ye really think we'll make good parents? I mean, we've both hae helped tae take care o' the kittens here fer as long as I can remember, but we've never had any o' oor own tae care fer 'round the clock before."

Jennyanydots couldn't help smiling. Her mate was starting to act like a scared human child on his first day of school.

"You needn't be worried, Skimble. Nobody has experience parenting until it starts, and like you said we've been looking after the tribe's kittens for a long, long time. I have no doubt Bombalurina and Demeter will be very happy here and we'll be the best mother and father to them that we can."

Skimbleshanks looked slightly relieved, "I guess yer right, but I sure hope it'll go as smoothly as ye say."

"I'm sure it will. Let's go back and check on the kits, see if they're finished."

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks walked back across the den to see how the two sisters were getting along. They had just finished their snack and were looking quite happy.

"How do you like the mouse cakes I gave you?" Jennyanydots asked them.

"Oh, we liked them fine, Jenny." Bombalurina said.

"Please, call me Mum, okay?" Jenny told them. "And call Skimbleshanks here "Dad"." She gestured to the orange tabby that was looking over her shoulder at Bombalurina and Demeter, who nodded their heads.

"O.K., Mummy!" Demeter said in her cute little kitten voice. Both grown-ups chortled to themselves lovingly. She certainly was a cute one.

"All right, now girls, I'm going to go out to the clearing now to watch the kittens. Do you want to come along and play?"

"We have lots o' kits aroun' ye're age here." Skimbleshanks interjected helpfully.

Bombalurina paused for a moment. She trusted the adult cats fully, but she had yet to meet any of the kittens who lived here, and she suddenly felt a little shy. But she couldn't rightly refuse, so she nodded.

"Good." Jenny said, obviously pleased. "Now you two come with me and we'll meet some of the other tribe members. Old Deuteronomy and Jellylorum have already told them that you've arrived." She took each kitten's paw in her paws and led them towards the door.

"I'm goin' tae turn in." Skimble told her. "Workin' on that train all night has left me dead tae the world."

"Okay, dear. See you later." Skimbleshanks gave a pleased sigh and shook his head as he headed to the back room of the den. He could tell that Jennyanydots was taking to this motherhood thing like a Pollicle to a bone. He just hoped that he could balance out both the responsibilities of his job on the train and his new job as a father. Shaking his head contentedly, Skimbleshanks went to take a nap.

=^.^=

As Jennyanydots led the two sisters out of the den, sounds of kittens laughing and cats talking could be heard from the clearing up ahead. Jenny noticed that Bombalurina and Demeter looked rather nervous, their little ears swiveling back and forth as they listened. They quickly rounded a corner and came into the clearing by the old tire.

Kittens were running around, playing tag and swatting at the kitty toys lying about while the adult cats lounged around talking on the TSE-1 car or near the old lorry tire, which Old Deuteronomy was sitting on and gazing down on the kittens warmly. Some sat on their doorsteps right outside their dens sunbathing. The two sisters looked around in amazement.

"Hwow menny cats in your twibe?" asked Demeter, examining the cats and kittens in front of her along with Bombalurina.

"Oh, several." Jenny answered nonchalantly. "A few adult cats and some older kittens along with some newbies. You two would fit more into the middle group."

"What are everybody's names?" Bombalurina inquired.

"That old cat sitting over there by the pipe is Gus the Theatre Cat." Jennyanydots pointed out. "He's our father, me and Jellylorum's. We're sisters like you."

"Wow. Why is he called that?" Bombalurina wanted to know.

"Who? Gus?"

"Yeah. Why is he called the "Theatre Cat"?'

"When he was younger he had an extensive acting career and played every possible part. Now he just sleeps and tells his same stories over and over again. But we act polite and pretend we're interested."

"That black and white splotched tom is named Alonzo. His father is Bustopher Jones, the St. James's Street Cat and Old Deuteronomy's younger brother. He spends most of time haunting fancy clubs around town." Bombalurina noticed the Jenny turned a funny shade of pink when she said Bustopher Jones's name. "He supposedly has another son besides Alonzo, but nobody knows who he is or what became of him." Bombalurina saddened a little bit when she heard that, but perked up quickly when Jennyanydots continued.

"The sleek Abyssinian kitten over there is Cassandra." Jenny pointed out. "She doesn't play any rough-house games. She's kind of, shall we say delicate. She also has a younger sister, Exotica, around here somewhere. And those two lounging on that platform are Corciopat and Tantomile."

"Which one is which?" Bombalurina asked.

"Well...um…Corciopat is the tom and Tantomile is the queen."

"I can't tell them apawt." Demeter was still confused.

"None of us can, to tell you the truth. They're both kind of new to the tribe. Both are very highly alert and aware and none of us know who their owner is. Some think they're a pair of witch's cats, but that's a lot of nonsense. Now Jellylorum and Asparagus, that's her mate, they have an all-white queen kitten named Victoria. She's quite young and just getting up and about though."

Jennyanydots led the two sisters over to the TSE-1 car and let go of their paws. Bombalurina and Demeter immediately scrambled on top of the car trunk and looked around at the clearing. They flushed and looked away though when some of the kittens raised their heads to look at them.

"Now you two, there are lots of kittens around your age. Go find someone to play with." Jenny urged. Then she walked over to the old tire to talk to Old Deuteronomy.

The tribe's patriarch smiled at her warmly as she approached the tire. "Hello, Jenny." He said.

"Hi, Deuteronomy."

"How are our new kittens doing?"

Jenny paused for a moment. "Well, to tell you the absolute truth, I'm kind of worried about them."

Old Deuteronomy raised one eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean exactly?" He asked.

Jenny glanced over at the kittens in question before responding. "It's just that they're so shy. Neither of them seems to want to play with anyone yet."

Old Deuteronomy smiled gently. "You've got to give them time, Jenny. After all, they're new here and it takes some time to get used to new people. Besides, from what Skimbleshanks told me they've just been through a rough time with their mother leaving and all."

Jennyanydots looked thoughtful. "I guess you're right, Old Deuteronomy. It does take time. I'm just worried, is all. I guess it's a responsibility of first-time mothers, or any mother for that matter." The two older cats grinned at each other.

"I know, Jennyanydots. Bombalurina and Demeter will be just fine. You mark my words."

=^.^=

A few minutes later, Jennyanydots looked over at the two sisters, who were still sitting on top of the TSE-1 car. Bombalurina was holding her sister closely and neither one of them were interacting with other kittens. Jenny sighed, a worried wrinkle starting to show in her forehead. She sure hoped Old Deuteronomy knew what he was talking about. But then again, she couldn't remember a time when he didn't.

Jellylorum and Asparagus exited their den and came into the clearing with Victoria. Asparagus settled down outside the den to take a sun-nap and Victoria went to try and intermingle with the rest of the kittens. Jellylorum walked over to where Jennyanydots was standing watching Bombalurina and Demeter.

"How are they doing?" She asked, following her sister's line of sight.

"They haven't interacted with any of the other kittens for the last five to six minutes." Jenny replied. "I hope they start to warm up soon."

"I'm sure they will. Bombalurina and Demeter will be just fine. You mark my words." Jellylorum said confidently.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Now you sound like Old Deuteronomy. He told me the same thing."

Jellylorum laughed but stopped abruptly when she saw that Alonzo, with little Victoria in tow, was climbing up the side of a steep pile of junk and both looked like they were about to slip at any moment. Asparagus was still dozing, paying no attention at all to the kittens' activities.

"Alonzo and Victoria! You get down here this instant!" The two kittens scrambled down quickly as Jelly stormed over to them, scolding as fast as her tongue could go. Asparagus woke with a start as his mate started chewing out him too.

"Taking a nap while your daughter is scaling a mountain so she can fall and crack her skull! I've never heard of such a thing!" Jelly screeched, while Asparagus calmly listened to her torrent, nodding now and then and interjecting a "Yes, dear." or a "No, dear." when she asked him a question. Jenny chuckled. Jellylorum had a habit of overreacting to everything the kits got into while Asparagus always seemed to take everything in stride. Tearing her attention from her sister's intense scolding of her family, she turned and walked over to where Bombalurina and Demeter were still sitting on the car trunk.

"Why aren't you playing?" Jennyanydots asked. Bombalurina shrugged and fiddled with a piece of string she held in her paws. Demeter mimicked her movements. Jenny sighed and looked around. Suddenly she saw a little silver tabby and a little Maine coon enter the clearing by the oven, apparently arguing about something.

"I told you not to borrow Macavity's ball without his permission, Tugger. I told you he was going to knock you over, didn't I?" the silver tabby was saying.

The Maine Coon kitten, known as Tugger, groaned. "I wish you would stop telling me, "I told you so". Just because you're older than me doesn't give you the authority to boss me around."

"I'm not bossing you around! I'm trying to help keep you out of trouble, if you would be grateful enough to help me do that by not getting into trouble in the first place."

"As if you never do anything wrong. When was the last time you got into trouble, Munkustrap?"

"Munkustrap, Tugger, stop arguing and come over here." Jennyanydots called to them. "There are some kits I would like you to meet."

Bombalurina and Demeter waited shyly as the two tom kits looked up from their quarrel and walked over to Jennyanydots, each with a confused look on his face.

"Whatever it is, he did it!" Tugger burst out, pointing at his brother who was glaring at him annoyed.

"Nobody is in trouble…" Jennyanydots began, but was cut off by a frantic Tugger.

"If this is about those mice of yours that were eaten, I didn't know they were yours. Or if it's about that paint can that was spilled on Alonzo yesterday, it was an accident. Or if it's about the comb missing from your den, I borrowed it to get the knots out of my mane. Or if it's about…"

"I didn't know you did any of those things, Tugger." Jennyanydots interrupted.

Tugger, who was about to continue his list of confessions, had the funniest look on his face. His older brother sniggered at him.

"You didn't?" he asked hopefully.

"No, but I do now." Jennyanydots tried to hide her smile at the little Maine Coon's sour expression, while Munkustrap doubled over in silent laughter much to his brother's annoyance, who whacked him upside the head with one paw.

"All right you two. That's enough of that. I want to introduce you to Bombalurina and Demeter. Bombalurina and Demeter, this is Munkustrap and the Rum Tum Tugger, but we call him Tugger for short."

"Hey." Both of the tom kits stammered together.

"Hi." Bombalurina said, and Demeter quickly followed up with a shy "hello".

"Would you two be so kind as to keep these two company?" Jenny asked the tom kits. The brothers looked at each other before nodding.

"Good. I'm going to go help Jelly with Victoria and Alonzo. You four have a good time." Jenny went over to help out her sister, who was beginning to calm down, all the while smiling to herself with satisfaction. If there were any two kittens who would be able to get the sisters to warm up, it would be Munkustrap and Tugger. Tugger was always full of new ideas and mischief to get into, while Munkustrap was the responsible one and would try to keep his brother in line. They were the perfect balance.

The four kittens stood looking at each other for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what to say. Tugger finally made one of his suggestions.

"Want to go play with Bustopher Jones's tail?" he asked.

Munkustrap wasn't too sure about this new mischief, but he didn't see any possible harm that could come from an innocent game like that so he backed his brother up. "What'd you say?" he looked the queen kits in front of him.

Bombalurina and Demeter perked up at the idea of a game. The two brothers had a friendly air about them that made them feel comfortable, so they all started off to find the cat about town.

As they left the clearing, the quartet passed under a large junk pile that seemed to be one of the tallest in the yard. They were almost passed it when several cans of whitewash suddenly came spilling down on top of them. The four kittens began coughing and sputtering as the whitewash got into their eyes, ears, and mouths. Munkustrap wiped the pungent stuff out of his eyes and looked up to see where it had come from, only for both him and Tugger and the two sisters to get doused with an old hose that somebody had gotten to work. The water washed off the whitewash, but left the group soaking wet.

"My mane." Tugger wailed. "It's ruined!" He put up such a fuss you would have thought he had just been attacked by a Pollicle.

Munkustrap rolled his eyes and looked up to see who had set off the hose. A flash of ginger fur at the top of the mound gave away the culprit.

"Macavity!" yelled Munkustrap angrily. "I'm going to tell Father on you!"

A tall, ginger tom, older than both Munkustrap and Tugger, sauntered down to where the soggy group was standing. He had sunken-in eyes and a domed head, and was sporting whickers that looked like they hadn't been combed in a week. Munkustrap had his arms crossed in front of himself and tried to look as authoritative as possible. Tugger also waited, holding on to his soggy and pathetic looking mane.

"What's the matter, Munk?" Macavity asked innocently. "I washed you off."

"Yeah, after you already messed us up!" the silver tabby yelled, his temper not improved. "Can't you find a hobby that doesn't involve annoying others?"

Macavity shrugged indifferently. His gaze then shifted until it rested on Bombalurina and Demeter. "Who are they?" he demanded in a gruff tone.

"They're new Jellicles, Macavity." Tugger replied, having regained his cool disposure. "This is Bombalurina and this is her little sister Demeter."

The ginger tom looked the two queen kits over slowly. Then a disturbing smile spread across his face and his orange eyes partly closed as he strutted over to the two sisters.

"Well, well, well. I'm disappointed we didn't meet sooner." Macavity drawled, in a suave voice not fitting for a kitten his age to possess. Munkustrap felt his muscles beginning to tighten.

"I'm sorry about that little accident just now." Macavity purred. "I often play such jokes on my little brothers but not on such beautiful queens as yourselves." The two sisters didn't really know what to make of it. Neither of them, particularly Demeter, had ever gotten this kind of attention from a tom before, but both of them rather enjoyed it. It would be nicer though if the tom in question wasn't so creepy.

"Why don't you just leave the little queens alone, Macavity?" Munkustrap interjected. He had had enough of this ridiculous behavior. After all, Bombalurina and Demeter were only kittens! Luckily, before the situation could worsen, Jellylorum hurried over, looking quite frazzled and annoyed.

"Macavity!" she yelled, making the ginger tom jump and curl up into a frightened ball like the kitten he was. "What do you think you're doing? Harassing new Jellicle kittens – I've never heard of such a thing. Now get out of here!" And with that, Jelly chased Macavity away scolding as fast as her tongue could go. "You better be happy you're Deuteronomy's oldest son, because if you weren't I'd teach you a lesson you wouldn't forget in a hurry!"

Munkustrap watched them go and then turned to the two sisters. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes my older brother is such a jerk."

Bombalurina nodded understandingly. "That's okay. I don't think he meant any harm." Munkustrap was about to disagree when Tugger interjected.

"Do you still want to play with Bustopher Jones's tail?"

"Sure!" the two sisters burst out, and Munkustrap decided to drop the subject of Macavity. The quartet started to rush off when they bumped into Jennyanydots, who had come over to see what it was this time that had put her sister into such a tizzy.

"Where are you all going in such a hurry?' she asked.

"We're going to go pway with Bustober Jones's tail." Demeter giggled.

"Don't!" Jennyanydots warned.

But the four kittens had already run off.

Please review!


	3. The Pollicle Caper

**A**/**N**: I've had quite a bit of trouble writing this chapter so hopefully its half-way decent. The events in this chapter are inspired by chapter four of Cascade of Dreams' story _Cats Together, Jellicles Forever_, where a young Munkustrap and Macavity wander away from the junkyard and witness "The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles". Thanks for the inspiration!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cats or any of its characters. That is the honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Film Group. I just like telling stories about them.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 - The Pollicle Caper<strong>

Bomba and Demeter and the two brothers became great friends, and they could be found together often. Tugger was an outgoing kitten who enjoyed attention (the good and bad kind), while Munkustrap was more centered and responsible, never failing to follow the rules and remind his brother to follow them too. Tugger could always be relied on to come up with a new idea or some new mischief to get into, which no doubted Munkustrap would have to help him get out of later. Macavity had apologized for the practical joke he played on them and would occasionally hang out with them, but being the oldest in the family he typically didn't take part in his younger brothers' games. Besides, when he did play with them he and Munkustrap would almost always end up in a fight of some kind, so the four kittens usually played without the ginger tom.

While Tugger and Bombalurina enjoyed each other's company, Munkustrap had grown pretty close to Demeter. He didn't exactly know what it was that attracted him to the little black and gold queen kit, but either way she had become his new best friend. They had quickly taken to spending lots of time with each other, even when Tugger and Bombalurina were otherwise occupied.

One sunny junkyard day, the four of them were all involved in a game of tag and had been left unsupervised. Jennyanydots and Jellylorum were busy attending to the younger kittens, and Grizabella was away again on tour with her owner, but was expected to be back that night. At the moment, Munkustrap was sneaking up on Bombalurina with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Tag! You're it!" He poked Bombalurina with his paw, and then darted away from the red queen as she chased after him. He hadn't gotten far when Demeter jumped on him from on from a pile of junk and tagged him. He then turned and started chasing after the two sisters, who were shrieking with delight.

They continued this way for a few minutes when suddenly Munkustrap noticed that Tugger wasn't playing.

"What's the matter, Tug?" Munkustrap asked. "Why aren't you playing?"

"I'm bored with this game." The Maine Coon kitten complained, flicking away a small piece of dust that was stuck on his claw.

"Why? Tag's fun!" Demeter spoke up. Now that her speech was more fluent and less kittenish talking had quickly become one of her favorite activities, next to tag, of course.

"Yeah, it's fun alright, but not when we've played it a hundred billion times in the same afternoon." Tugger griped.

"Well what do you suggest we do, Tuggy?" Bombalurina asked, gazing up at him with a look better reserved for a human schoolgirl trying to impress her first crush. Demeter rolled her now fully open eyes while Munkustrap hid his grin behind one paw.

Tugger looked around first to make sure none of the adult cats were within hearing range, before lowering his head and whispering mysteriously, "I know where we can find a park in town."

"What?" Munkustrap exclaimed. He quickly lowered his voice when his younger brother shushed him. "You've never been outside of the junkyard, let alone wandering around town. How do you know about this park?"

"Easy." The Maine Coon kit grinned smugly, before turning to Bombalurina and Demeter. "I overheard your daddy talking to Gus about this park he occasionally goes by on his way back here from the train station. I've also smelled the scent of it on his vest. Just from that I'm sure I could find it."

Munkustrap looked doubtful. "I don't know Tug. I don't think Jenny and Jelly would approve…"

"Oh, poo." Tugger pouted. "Don't you want to have some fun for a change? You know the reason I'm so popular around here?" Tugger leaned back, put his paws behind his head, and crossed his legs before finishing. "Because I don't let all those rules cramp my style."

Bombalurina and Demeter looked at Munkustrap expectantly. As the oldest, he was the de-facto leader of the group whenever they were together, and the two sisters regularly would look to him for his approval before starting a new adventure. The silver tabby hesitated. He didn't want to get in trouble with the older cats, especially since he had been put in charge while they were gone. But then again, finding this park Tugger spoke about sure sounded like fun. So after this brief pause he nodded his head.

"Atta boy, Munku!" Tugger exclaimed. "You won't regret it. Come on girls."

After making a check to make sure there were no adult cats around to see them, Tugger led the group away from the kittens' play area, weaving through several mounds of various odds and ends until the fence surrounding the junkyard came into view. Tugger made another quick look-around to make sure no one was watching them, and then squeezed through the metal bars of the fence out onto the sidewalk. Turning around, he grinned smugly at the other kittens and motioned for them to follow him.

Bombalurina hesitated. The last time she and her sister been out in the city their mother had left them at the junkyard and never returned, so she still felt nervous about venturing beyond what she considered safe and secure. But Demeter had no such qualms. In no time at all she had squeezed through the bars after Tugger. Bombalurina's protective instincts towards her sister took over and she followed Demeter, with Munkustrap close behind. Tugger took the lead as they set out, his nose to the wind and a determined expression on his face.

=^.^=

Though Tugger had assured them that finding the park would be piece of cake, it quickly proved to be more difficult than he had originally figured. First of all, London was a big city with lots of different smells, and finding one particular scent amongst all of the rest was a daunting task even for an adult cat, much less a young kitten. The kittens generally kept to the alleyways, in order to avoid being stepped on by hundreds of people who were shuffling down the city's busy sidewalks. The only humans they encountered were bums or tramps who seemed more than a little confused to see four kittens walking along as though they had a particular destination in mind, which in fact, they did.

More than once Tugger would stop to sniff the air, shake his head, and then continue on. Bombalurina was becoming nervous and complained that she was getting tired, while Munkustrap continued to get more and more worried as it became clear to him that his brother had no clue where he was going. Demeter, on the other hand, was a different story. She seemed to relish in the adventure at hand and her enthusiasm never wavered, even when Tugger would take one his many stops to consult the air and shake his head in frustration. They had been wandering around town for what seemed like several hours before Munkustrap finally spoke.

"Tugger?" he asked worriedly, as his younger brother stopped to sniff the air again. "Are we lost?"

"Lost?" Tugger turned around, looking at his brother with an incredulous look on his face. "Of course not! We're almost there actually. Just a few more blocks and then…wait." Tugger stopped talking and wiggled his funny little kitten nose in the air, sniffing. "I think I smell it."

"Smell what?" Demeter demanded expectantly.

"The park, of course!" Tugger exclaimed impatiently. "And if my nose is correct we're not two blocks from it!"

"Good, because my feet ache." Bombalurina grumbled, licking her sore paws as if to comfort them.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Munkustrap ventured finally, relief washing over him like a wave. "Lead the way bro!"

Tugger grinned. "Ah, got a little more faith in me now, uh?"

"I will if you can get finally get us there." Munkustrap retorted. "Now let's go."

Tugger led the group out of the alleyway they had been resting in, down a couple of more streets, and through another alley before the park Skimbleshanks had talked about finally came into view. It wasn't much, just a few patches of grass and bushes surrounded by a white picket fence. But to kittens who had never seen large amounts of grass at one time before, it was very impressive indeed. The group halted just a few yards from it.

"Well, here's our destination!" Tugger announced triumphantly, looking quite pleased with himself. "Didn't I tell you I could find it?"

Bombalurina and Demeter were so excited to finally have found the park they were about to rush right over to it, when Munkustrap's voice stopped them cold.

"Wait!" he called out, sounding urgent and maybe just a wee bit scared. "What are those things?"

Tugger, Bombalurina, and Demeter looked where Munkustrap was pointing. On one side of the street to the right of the park, there stood a large creature with a long muzzle and sleek fur, and it appeared to be gazing intensely at something on the other side. When the quartet looked over there, they saw a smaller, fluffy creature with thicker fur and a short snout, staring intently back at the creature on the other side of the street. The two creatures glared at each other angrily for several moments and began to scrape their hind feet on the asphalt, their tails frozen stiffly behind them, as if getting ready to attack.

"What are they doing?" Tugger whispered. He had finally found his voice and was confused. Bombalurina and Demeter were still petrified, wide eyes glued on the strange yet dangerous looking creatures.

"How should I know?" Munkustrap shot back. He was scared silly, but he did his best to hide it. In a situation like this someone needed to keep a cool head.

The four kittens watched fearfully, waiting to see what would happen. The standoff was abruptly ended when the larger creature let out a harsh yet vulgar sounding bark. Startled by the sudden noise the kittens dived into the nearest alleyway, where they could watch the strange animals without being seen.

The challenge was promptly answered in the same manner by the smaller creature, summoning about a dozen or more of the small fluffy creatures to begin appearing at doorways and windows on that side of the street. But instead of barking, they started to grumble and wheeze unintelligibly at the bigger animal, who seemed to enjoy the ruckus he was creating. He in turn was quickly joined by more members of his own kind, several of them appearing to be of Scottish nationality and were playing some kind of marching song on their pipes. Tugger actually seemed enthralled by the music, but Munkustrap was less than impressed and herded Bombalurina and Demeter farther back into the shadows for their own protection.

"What are they doing now?" he whispered to Tugger, after he instructed the sisters not to move until the creatures left and had come back.

Tugger shrugged just as the music abruptly stopped. Several even weirder-looking creatures with smushed-in faces had joined into the din from a rooftop and an apartment balcony across the street, and now the creatures had begun to stand off, barking madly at each other from both sides of the road. Their lips had curled back into snarls, revealing rows of glistening white teeth. Munkustrap's fur stood on end and he watched with wide eyes. He didn't even notice that Bombalurina and Demeter had snuck back until Bomba brushed him with her tail.

Munkustrap quickly grabbed them and pulled them underneath himself. "I told you not to move!" he hissed.

"You didn't think you were going to make us miss all the excitement did you?" Bombalurina asked, and Demeter nodded her head in agreement. Munkustrap was about to retort when Tugger nudged him in the ribs. The silver tabby looked over at his brother and the Maine Coon gestured to the creatures. They were now glaring fiercely at each other and growls emitted from deep in their throats as they prepared to attack, scraping and sharpening their claws on the sidewalk. No one at all was about on the street and sirens in the distance indicated that the fire brigade was on its way. Bombalurina and Demeter trembled with both excitement and fear while Munkustrap and Tugger were too scared to move.

Suddenly, everything came to a screeching halt and the barking ceased as the creatures turned their attention to a small basement flat. The kittens looked in that direction to see what it was that had caught the animals' attention, and were amazed to see a cool-looking, spiky haired cat with flashing red eyes emerge. The cat was lean yet muscular and had a large 'R' stenciled on his chest. It then opened its mouth and gave a great yawn, revealing two rows of impressive looking teeth. The creatures stood petrified in the positions they were in just moments ago, and to the kittens they actually looked scared.

Then, the cat looked to sky and gave a great leap into the middle of the standoff. The creatures immediately tucked their tails betwixt their legs and scattered, disappearing within a matter of seconds. The cat looked around suspiciously, but finally satisfied that none of the creatures remained he stooped down and dusted himself off.

"Blame police dog must have been drinking in the Wellington Arms again." He muttered, loud enough for the kits to hear him. Then his bright red eyes landed upon the little group of kittens, who slunk back into the shadows and tried to appear invisible.

"Well!" said the cat, annoyed. "What are you little ones doing here?"

"Exploring!" Demeter answered, and yelped when Tugger pinched her tail. She turned around to give the Maine Coon kit a dirty look.

"Well, I don't really care what you're doing but you aren't supposed to be here." The cat grumbled, looking less than friendly. "You belong at the Jellicle Junkyard with the rest of your tribe."

Munkustrap was startled. "How do you know we're Jellicles?" he demanded.

"I know your father, kit." The cat replied testily. "And I know about you and your brother there, though I don't know them." His bright red eyes bored into Bombalurina and Demeter, who wished they could just disappear from view. "I guess I better get you home, but I'll have you know this is not one of the duties of the Great Rumpus Cat." He started up the sidewalk, which was starting to flow with people again, and motioned for the kittens to follow him. After a pause, the kittens sheepishly fell in behind.

After proceeding for several minutes in silence, Tugger ventured to ask a question. "Um, Mr. Rumpus Cat?" He said hesitantly, deciding to test the waters. The Rumpus Cat didn't respond so he continued. "What were those creatures back there, anyway?"

"Those kitten, were dogs." The Rumpus Cat replied scornfully. "Every last one of them. The big ones are called Pollicles while the smaller ones are known as Pekes. Those weird looking dogs on the balcony and rooftop are called Pugs and Poms. The Pekes and the Pollicles hate each other and will fight at every chance they get." Here the Rumpus Cat paused impressively. "It's my job to keep them in line since the police dog is typically too drunk to do his job. The Pollicles are also the largest dog tribe in London, but they're scattered throughout the city and too disorganized to cause any real threat to us cats. They like to eat cats though and will if they get the chance. You kits are lucky you didn't get eaten." The little group of runaway kits shivered when they realized what a close call they'd had, and the Rumpus Cat couldn't help but smile to himself.

=^.^=

When the group arrived back at the Jellicle Junkyard in the late evening there was quite a commotion going on. Jellylorum was working herself into a state over the kittens' disappearance, while Jennyanydots was trying to calm her by pointing out that it wasn't _her_ kits who had gone missing. Skimbleshanks was trying to comfort his mate though Jenny insisted she was alright while Asparagus was interjecting helpful advice such as "Well, they couldn't have fallen off the face of the earth." Old Deuteronomy was trying to calm all of the adults down and Grizabella, who had just returned from her latest tour, didn't seem overly concerned and was saying that if Munkustrap was with them they would be alright. Everyone stopped what they were saying when they saw the Rumpus Cat enter the clearing with four very shame-faced little kittens in tow.

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks immediately rushed over and began hugging Bombalurina and Demeter and scolding them for running off. Old Deuteronomy embraced his sons before turning them over to their mother, who patted them both on the head and told them how glad she was they were both safe. The Rumpus Cat watched the reunion with a blank expression before deciding to speak.

"Old Deuteronomy." He addressed the elder cat, bowing his head slightly in respect.

Old Deuteronomy and the rest of the adult cats turned their attention to the super-hero cat. "Rumpus Cat." Old Deuteronomy returned, with a similar kind of respect in his voice. "We all thank you for bringing our kittens home safely." The rest of the adults murmured their agreement.

The Rumpus Cat grinned slightly. "Oh, it was no problem, but I think you might want to know that your kits here were watching a battle between the Peke and Pollicle dog tribes." Munkustrap and Tugger, along with Bombalurina and Demeter, fidgeted uncomfortably.

"_Pollicles!?_" screeched Jellylorum, working herself back into a state. "Why of all the fool-hardy…"

"Now, now, dear. Calm down." Asparagus said soothingly, rubbing his mate on the back.

Old Deuteronomy silently nodded to the Rumpus Cat, giving him permission to leave the proceedings. The Rumpus Cat grinned again, and then strode out of the junkyard with a haughty gate that made Munkustrap burn with annoyance towards him for getting them in trouble.

Jennyanydots looked at the four kittens sternly. All four of them looked like they wished that the earth would just open and swallow them up. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

Tugger was the first to speak. "Well, we didn't know what they were, Auntie Jenny!" He said in a weak attempt to defend himself and his companions.

"That's no excuse." Jenny interrupted. "You shouldn't have wandered away in the first place. It looks like you're going to have to be punished for this." She concluded decisively, looking over to Grizabella for support.

Unfortunately, the Glamour cat didn't give her any. "I don't really see what the big deal is Jenny." Jellylorum looked like she was about to knock Grizabella over and Asparagus tightened his grip on his mate to prevent it from happening. "After all, they're all okay and no harm was done."

Jennyanydots stared at Grizabella in disbelief. "You mean you want to see your kittens wander out of the junkyard again so they can be eaten by Pollicles? They have to learn from this!"

"I'm not saying that at all." Grizabella said, filing her nails nonchalantly. "I'm just saying that the best lessons are learned from experience. And I think they've had one experience they won't forget in a hurry. Now, if you all will excuse me, I've got to go take my beauty sleep." And with that Grizabella turned and left the clearing, with all the shocked eyes of the adult cats boring into her, including that of Old Deuteronomy, and in his heart he felt pain that his mate wanted nothing to do with raising their kittens.

After the cats had recovered from the shock, Jenny turned back to Munkustrap, Tugger, Bombalurina, and Demeter, who were all looking down at their feet and fidgeting nervously.

"Alright, all of you go to bed. You will get no supper tonight. Go on." Jenny said forcefully. Bombalurina and Demeter hurried towards Jenny and Skimble's den, relieved to finally be out of the spotlight and shooting glances at Munkustrap and Tugger, who were arguing over who was to blame for the whole mess.

"Another one of your great ideas got us in trouble Tugger." Munkustrap glowered, obviously humiliated. "When will you ever learn?"

"Well, it's your fault you know." Tugger shot back defensively.

"My fault!"

"Yes, your fault! You were supposed to stop me!"

Before Munkustrap could respond to that comment, he and Tugger entered their kittenhood den that they still shared with Macavity, and found the aforementioned ginger tom leaning up against the wall with a smirk on his face.

"So, perfect little Munkustrap got himself into trouble, did he?" Macavity grinned. He had obviously overheard what had happened and was relishing in the opportunity to annoy his younger brother.

"Shut up Macavity." snapped Munkustrap, causing both Macavity and Tugger to burst out laughing at the annoyed expression on his face. As his brothers' laughter echoed in his ears, Munkustrap's mind drifted back to the near battle he and Tugger and Bombalurina and Demeter had witnessed earlier that day, between those two dog tribes known as the Pekes and the Pollicles. Even though it had been frightening, he still couldn't help but be thrilled by it.

"The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles." He murmured to himself, as his brothers continued to laugh and joke at his expense. "That would make a great play."

Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Days of Innocence

**A**/**N**: BIG shout out to Milesperhour for giving me my first review. Thanks a ton!

There's going to be a lot of Munk/Deme fluff in this chapter. This story is my first attempt at writing romance, so this chapter is sort of a teaser for the real stuff that will come later on. The kittenhood rivalry between Macavity/Munkustrap will also be further examined here. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cats or any of its characters. That is the honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Film Group. I just like telling stories about them.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 - Days of Innocence<strong>

The weeks following the incident with the Rumpus Cat passed quickly, and Bombalurina and Demeter were growing into quite the healthy, happy little kits. They stayed with Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots, who were delighted after all these years to finally have kittens that they could care for. Bombalurina and Demeter had only been at the Jellicle Junkyard for less than three weeks though, before Jenny had had the pleasure of announcing that she was expecting her and Skimbleshanks' first kitten. This meant that Bombalurina and Demeter would soon have a baby step-sister. This pleased them both immensely, and they happily did their share of chores and anything else they could do to help out around the den. To add to that, soon afterwards Asparagus and Jellylorum announced that Jelly was pregnant with twins. This meant that the junkyard had _three_ new arrivals to look forward to.

The other kittens were growing like weeds. Each had their own unique set of personality traits or mannerisms that were starting to come out, and like kittens do, they regularly found ways to get into mischief. Tugger was arguably the biggest headache of them all. He had developed quite an outgoing personality and had a cocky arrogance that knew no bounds. For whatever reason, he had become one of the most popular kittens in the junkyard and strove to be in the center of attention at all costs, even when it didn't surround around him, and relishing in it when it did. The older cats could only shake their heads and admit he was definitely a curious cat. Alonzo had a quick temper and a general competitiveness that would occasionally serve to get him into trouble. He liked to play-fight with the other tom kittens and would sometimes get into real fights on the street with cats that provoked him. It had become obvious that he was incapable of turning down a challenge once given to him.

Macavity was the worst of all. And his mischief wasn't the relatively harmless kind like Tugger's or Alonzo's. Macavity enjoyed playing mean and cruel pranks on the younger kittens and sometimes on the adult cats, and was incredibly good at it too. He had become an expert at pulling a trick or prank and then being nowhere around when someone would show up to investigate. The kittens were too scared of Macavity to stand up to him, and he regularly exploited this by picking on them or intimidating them into doing what he wanted. His personality was quickly becoming too big for the junkyard**.**

It was hard work for Munkustrap to try and keep his brothers in line. As the second oldest, he was expected to set a good example for the kittens who were younger than he was, but sometimes it became very stressful trying. It was hard enough with trying to keep Tugger out of trouble that he would just "happen" to stumble into and Alonzo out of fights he just "happened" to start without having to worry about his older brother. Macavity had always resented Munkustrap since the day the latter was born. At first it had just seemed to be a natural case of jealousy due to not being the only kitten in the family anymore, but as the two brothers had gotten older it had developed into something else entirely. Macavity tended to be irresponsible, failing to take on the role of the oldest kitten in the tribe and the older sibling of two, but Munkustrap had slid into the "big brother" role easily. He had always been very serious and more mature than his age suggested, and acted more like an adult cat by taking care of the kittens younger than him and trying to keep them out of mischief. But Munkustrap didn't seem to mind the idea of growing up early, and genuinely appeared to enjoy the responsibility.

The older cats had often held Munkustrap up to Macavity as an example, attempting to shame him for not being like his brother. Macavity did not like being compared to his little brother one bit and had grown jealous and resentful of the attention Munkustrap received. He took every chance he could to bully Munkustrap or pick a fight with him. He had been an easy target when the two of them had been little. One of Macavity's favorite pastimes then had been to tackle Munkustrap and twist his arm behind his back until he started pleading for mercy. It had been a whole lot of fun, but as the two of them had gotten older and Munkustrap had also grown bigger, Macavity had found his brother more than capable of fighting back. Since then, the dislike the two brothers had for each other had grown into a bitter rivalry.

Macavity also seemed to like Demeter and had attempted to approach her ever since he had thoughtlessly harassed her and Bombalurina, but Munkustrap had no desire to see Demeter fall into the company of his brother and had managed to keep the two apart. To him, the little queen kitten was easy prey as she was innocent and had a very forgiving nature, and Munkustrap didn't want Macavity to exploit that like he did with the rest of the kittens in the tribe.

One night, Munkustrap was hunting for mice in his favorite secret corner of the junkyard. He had worked very hard to keep it a secret, because if Macavity found out he would be very quick to take it as his own and force Munkustrap out, so he had always been careful never to come to this spot when he thought anyone else might be watching. He had had enough trouble that day with Tugger collecting various items around the junkyard to place in his collection of odds and ends, and a plump, juicy mouse sounded extra good.

Suddenly, Munkustrap thought he saw something moving in a corner near a pile of old, tin cans. He grinned and crept forward, making sure to keep his stomach close to the ground. The thing, which he was sure was a mouse, moved again, rattling the tin cans slightly. Munkustrap's green eyes gleamed wide with hunger, and he got ready to pounce, the tip of his striped tail wagging back and forth with anticipation.

When the mouse moved again, he pounced right into the center of the pile of cans. A crashing sound rattled through his ears as one of the cans slid down over his head and got stuck there. The mouse gave a little squeak of fright and Munkustrap heard it running off through the trash, while he frantically struggled with the can, trying to wrench the stupid thing off his head. After a couple of seconds the thing came free and rolled off his head and into the trash. Munkustrap gave a sigh of relief. Just then he heard a giggle right behind him.

Whirling around, he was confronted by the sight of an amused Demeter, who had apparently witnessed the whole thing. Munkustrap felt his pointed ears begin to burn with embarrassment.

"How long have you been there?" He demanded gruffly, pulling himself up to full height and crossing his arms in front of himself impressively.

"Just since you got your head stuck in that can." Demeter replied through her giggles. "What were you doing anyway?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know.

Munkustrap felt his embarrassment begin to diminish. "Oh nothing. I was hunting this mouse and he got away from me." He dusted himself off and continued. "This is my secret mousing spot, and I would appreciate it if you would keep it that way."

He delivered the last request rather harshly, and he hoped he hadn't offended her, but to his relief she quickly replied, "Of course, Munkustrap."

The two kits stood for a minute, looking at each and not quite knowing what to do next. Munkustrap was the one who broke the silence. "Say, would you like to hunt with me here for a while? I'll teach you everything I know about mousing."

Demeter appeared to like the suggestion. "Sure, Munkustrap. I'd be happy to mouse with you." Then slyly she added, "But I'm not sure who will be teaching who about mousing. I could teach you a thing or two about it myself."

Munkustrap scoffed. "You? Teach me? Well, it makes for a half way decent joke."

Demeter pretended to be annoyed. "Munkustrap, you're terrible." She teased. And then the two young cats set off happily together, chatting about mice and mouse dinners.

=^.^=

After they had finished hunting, and had caught two mice each to boot, Munkustrap and Demeter started back towards the center of the junkyard and Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots's den. The Jellicle Moon was shining bright in the starry sky above, and the whole junkyard had a very peaceful and serene feel to it. When they reached the old tire, Demeter suddenly climbed up on top of it and motioned for Munkustrap to join her.

Confused, the silver tabby climbed up next to the black and gold queen and sat there next to her, each silently enjoying the other's company. It was completely quiet, except for the crickets calling out their soft, nighttime song from the edges of the junkyard. Munkustrap perked up his ears so he could listen while Demeter stared intensely at the moon in the sky, a dreamy and far-off look in her eyes.

Several minutes passed before one of them spoke. "Demeter?" Munkustrap murmured. Demeter looked up at him. "Why do you like the moon so much?"

Demeter seemed to consider the question for a minute before responding. "I'm not sure, Munku." She said finally. "It's just so lulling and peaceful. You can get lost in your thoughts just looking at it."

She stared down at her paws before going on with what she had been saying.

"The moon is a great comfort to me, even when I'm not feeling badly. My…I mean, our mother, Bomba's and mine, used to show us the moon all the time once we were old enough to actually see it." Her eyes glistened with tears when she spoke of her mother, and Munkustrap put an arm around her comfortingly and Demeter leaned in against him, burying her face in his fur.

"You miss her, don't you?" was all Munkustrap could think of to say.

Demeter nodded, still resting her head against his chest and starting to purr. "Yes." She whispered. "I miss her. But I can't remember her as well as Bomby can." She pulled slightly back from him and blew her nose into a handkerchief that seemed to have come from nowhere. "But Jenny is an excellent mother, and Skimble is a good daddy, and Auntie Jelly and Uncle 'Sparagus are really good to me too." She looked up at him shyly. "And your mother is really friendly and sweet to me too."

Inside, Munkustrap felt a bit resentful when Demeter mentioned his mother. Neither he nor any of his brothers had had much love for Grizabella, who had left them pretty much to themselves because she didn't want to be bothered with raising them. Besides, she had always wanted little queens, so she could raise them up to be just as glamorous as she was. Little toms were of no paticular use to her, so she had pretty much ignored them up through their entire kittenhood. But Munkustrap didn't want Demeter to know his feelings. So he said:

"Yes, I suppose they all are pretty good parents. It's nice having caring cats like that you can come to when you have a problem." He secretly didn't feel that his mother should be included in the category of "good parents", but kept his feelings to himself. "We're all very grateful to have them here."

Up to this point, the two had been sitting quite close to each other, with Munkustrap's arm around Demeter's shoulders and Demeter's head leaning against Munkustrap's chest. As their talking ceased, they suddenly noticed how close they were sitting and pulled back from each other as if they had been electrocuted. They stared at each for a minute, swallowing deeply and their eyes opened wide with shock at their physical closeness. Sure, they were friends, but they were still just kittens and had never gotten that near to each other, especially when nobody else was around.

Finally, Munkustrap looked around nervously to see if any of the other cats had been in the vicinity, and possibly had seen them. But no one appeared to be around. After looking around one more time, Munkustrap gave a shaky smile.

"Well." He said, his voice shaky. "I'm glad Jenny didn't catch us sitting here like that. She would've had our heads!"

That seemed to lighten the atmosphere and Demeter smiled. They both sat there grinning at each other until they burst out laughing, remembering how funny the other's face had looked a minute before. Finally they were able to stop laughing.

"We're still friends right?" asked Munkustrap, teasingly.

Demeter giggled, "Of course, Munku."

There was silence for a minute before either of them spoke again.

"I'd better be getting home." Demeter said by and by. "Jenny will kill me if I'm not in bed before ten o' clock, and Bomby is probably already in bed after hanging out with your brother all day." She rolled her eyes.

Munkustrap grinned. Bombalurina had taken a liking to the Rum Tum Tugger and started spending time with him alone. They weren't exactly best friends, but they hung out with each other enough to be considered as such. Demeter had taken a disliking to Tugger's vain attitude and didn't like her sister's association with him, but there was nothing she could do about it so she just let it go. After all, both Tugger and Bombalurina were still just kittens and their relationship was nothing deeper than a mild friendship. There was still quite a bit of time before any of them would be considering mates.

"All right. I have to be getting to bed too. See you tomorrow, Demeter." Munkustrap hopped off of the tire and walked away in the direction of his den. He had butterflies in his stomach and had no idea why. He did know that the time he and Demeter had spent sitting together was the happiest time he had ever spent in all his short life. But it would take a little while longer for him to realize what the feelings he had had at that moment were.

=^.^=

Demeter, meanwhile, headed for Jennyanydots's den smiling to herself. She was thinking of how funny her face must have looked like before. If Munkustrap's face was any indication, she must have looked hilarious. It certainly was a good thing that nobody had caught them cuddling up to each other, especially her sister or Jennyanydots. Then she would have either had to put up with every kitten and cat in the tribe's excessive teasing, or Jenny would have boxed her ears until they fell off.

She reached the den and went inside, making sure first to put on a poker face, not wanting her sister to guess anything unusual had happened. Bombalurina was still awake, sweeping up a corner of the den. Since her pregnancy began Jenny had been very tired, so the sisters had been doing a great deal of the household chores for her. When Bombalurina heard her enter she put down her broom, looked up, and spoke irately.

"Where have you been?" her sister demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Mum has been worried sick about you!"

Demeter flushed. She had gotten so wrapped up in her moon-gazing she had lost track of the time. She hadn't prepared an excuse in case her mother or sister was to ask where she had been. But there was no harm in telling them the truth, at least, part of the truth.

"I…I was out." When her sister gave her a strange look Demeter spoke hurriedly. "Mousing with Munkustrap."

Bombalurina looked at her sharply. "Mousing with Munkustrap? At this hour?"

Demeter swallowed nervously. Her sister was right. Nobody ever went mousing this late in the evening.

"Well, he asked me to!" she spoke defensively. "And then on our way back I got caught up looking at the moon so we sat on the tire together…" Demeter's voice trailed off and she clamped a paw over her mouth. This was not good.

A knowing smile crept into Bombalurina's face as she peered at her younger sister through half-closed eyelids.

"Ooh, there's something going on between you two, isn't there?" Bombalurina purred teasingly, causing her sister to blush madly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Demeter said defensively. "We're just friends."

"Uh uh." Bombalurina didn't sound convinced and Demeter started to get annoyed.

"Well, I don't act any different around Munkustrap than you act around Tugger." Her retort had its desired effect when it was Bombalurina's turn to blush. "You're in _love_ with him." Demeter drawled, making sure to put emphasis on the word 'love' in order to further embarrass her sister.

"I am not!" Bombalurina defended herself. Demeter had successfully gotten her dander up.

"Yes you are." Demeter smirked triumphantly. "You're in _love_ with the Rum Tum Tugger."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Will you girls lower your voices please?" Jenny called suddenly from her and Skimbleshanks' bedroom. "Your father and I are trying to sleep." Bombalurina and Demeter heard Skimble mumble a sleepy "aye" of agreement into his pillow.

"Sorry Mum!" Both sisters chimed at once.

"That's alright. Now go to bed. It's already late as it is."

"Yes Mum. Goodnight!"

The quarrel was forgotten as both Bombalurina and Demeter went to sleep for the night. But the next day when the two sisters went out to play with the other kittens, Demeter saw Munkustrap sitting on the old tire where both of them had been last night. She blushed as Munkustrap grinned at her from across clearing, and, when she was sure her sister wasn't looking, she smiled right back at him.

Reviews are appreciated!


	5. A Sad Departure

**A**/**N**: Just in case you haven't read my profile, I believe that Bustopher Jones is Old Deuteronomy's younger brother. I failed to include that piece of information in chapter two. That's why I refer to Alonzo as Macavity and Munkustrap's cousin in this chapter.

This is my version of why Grizabella decided to leave the Jellicle tribe. You don't have to agree, just read and enjoy.

**Update**: I have added the information regarding Bustopher Jones to chapter two. I am sorry for taking so long with chapter six but will try to update as soon as possible.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cats or any of its characters. That is the honor of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful Film Group. I just like telling stories about them.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 - A Sad Departure<strong>

One day, Demeter was with Grizabella in her den watching the older cat put on her cosmetics. She and Grizabella had grown quite close since Demeter and Bombalurina had come to live in the junkyard. Both Bombalurina and Demeter were beautiful kittens, and Grizabella had no doubts they would grow up to be just as beautiful as she was some day. Bombalurina had never trusted or liked Grizabella, but Demeter was young and impressionable, so she and the Grizabella had taken to spending a lot of time together.

However, Demeter couldn't help but notice that Grizabella was looking rather run down and tired that day, and was wondering what was wrong. In fact, Grizabella hadn't been acting much like herself for about a week now. She spent more time in her den away from the other cats, and hadn't nearly as much time to spend with Demeter herself lately. Grizabella had never been the most sociable of felines, but she was not reclusive either. As a result, the black and gold kitten couldn't help but worry about her friend.

Truth be told, something was bothering Grizabella. Something very important was bothering her; something that had the potential to change her life forever.

It had all started about a week ago when she had learned that her owner was going on an international tour and was going to be away for an indefinite length of time. There was no telling how long she would be away. This left the Glamour Cat in a compromising situation.

She had always thought she loved her tribe and the junkyard, but she was now approaching an age that forced her to take a step back and consider her life so far. It was true that she hadn't spent a lot of time raising her kits and had largely ignored them, but all her kittens were toms, and she had always wanted queens so she could raise them up to just as glamorous and beautiful as she was. She didn't feel she could bring up tom kittens properly and had left all the responsibility of their upbringing to her mate, Old Deuteronomy. Grizabella hadn't appeared to notice the dysfunction in her family, and if she did, she didn't show any concern about it. She was so busy trying to uphold her reputation as the most glamorous cat in the junkyard to concern herself with her family's problems. But she was getting older, and struck with terror over the idea of losing her beauty to old age, she had dedicated more and more of her time to keeping herself as beautiful as possible. It had only been recently when the reality had dawned on her – what had been her safety valve for so long would not last forever – and she was wondering whether she ought to go with her owner and capture her chance at fame and glory before it vanished for good.

Grizabella sighed and applied her mascara as she thought about it. Just then Demeter spoke. "Is there something wrong, Auntie Griz?"

Grizabella smiled sadly, "No child, no. nothing's the matter. It's just…just…life."

"Life?" The question seemed so heartfelt coming from a cat Demeter's age, that Grizabella just couldn't ignore her.

"Yes. Life." She sighed deeply. "I just wonder whether I'm making the most of it. It seems…so….so…empty." she finished quietly, and turned her head to look away from the little black and gold queen, who was looking at her with curiosity and concern written all over her small face.

Sighing again, Grizabella attempted to go on with her explanation. "Yes, empty. Totally empty. Worthless." She murmured to herself, lost in thought.

"Your life's not worthless, Auntie Griz." Demeter squeaked happily. "You've got Old Deuteronomy, one of the most important cats in the world as your mate. You've got three kittens that are some of the best in the junkyard." (She didn't quite think that declaration through.) "You've got Mum and Daddy and Auntie Jelly and Uncle 'Sparagus as friends, and you've got…me." She finished shyly.

Grizabella looked at her and smiled sadly, "You are really sweet, Demeter. Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I just don't know whether I'm doing what I should with my life. I fear I'm going to waste it all by not taking advantage of it while I'm still young. I know it's hard to believe, Demeter," She looked at the kitten in question thoughtfully before completing her statement, "but even a cat can't live forever."

Demeter looked surprised "They can't?" she asked. "Nine lives aren't forever?"

Grizabella gave a small laugh, "No, they're not forever."

There was silence in the room as they both pondered that thought. One an aging but gorgeous feline, while the other a happy bubbly little kitten with her whole life ahead of her yet.

"Can you sing me a song, Auntie Griz?" Demeter suddenly requested. "You have the best singing voice in the whole world."

Grizabella chuckled softly. Though she was better known for her exquisite beauty, she also was blessed with one of the most wondrous singing voices in the junkyard. "Well, I don't know about that, child. There must be at least two or three that are better."

She chuckled again as the little queen shook her head in disagreement. "No way Auntie Griz, you're the best singer ever. There is no doubt about it."

"Okay. I'll sing you a song then. Here, climb up on my lap."

So the little black and gold queen snuggled up to Grizabella and listened to her sing in that beautiful voice of hers, and she sang so beautifully the young queen couldn't help but drift off to sleep.

Grizabella smiled when she saw that Demeter had nodded off, and stroked the little queen's head fondly. As she watched her sleep, she thought about the conversation she and Demeter had just had.

She hated to see Demeter so unhappy because of her unhappiness, and she was very touched by the little queen's concern for her well-being. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she just didn't belong in this junkyard; that it wasn't the right place for her to live out the rest of her life. The opportunity of a lifetime was being offered to her on a silver platter. Truth be told she had always dreamed of being a famous showcat, but it had been the little bit of responsibility she still felt towards her family that had kept her from leaving. But then, did she really want to stay here and be held back by a family she'd largely ignored, when there was so much to be seen and done out there in the world beyond the junkyard?

Grizabella sighed heavily. She had to make a decision soon. Her owner would be leaving tomorrow, and if she hadn't decided by then she might be left behind. Hopefully the rest of the tribe would accept her final decision.

=^.^=

Later that day, Grizabella decided to go for a stroll through the junkyard and happened to pass the kittens' play area. Recently, Jennyanydots finally given birth to her and Skimble's kitten, a beautiful calico queen which they named Rumpelteazer. Not too long after, Asparagus and Jellylorum had welcomed their twins, a couple of toms which they named Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, into the world as well. Weeks had passed since then and all three had grown into healthy and happy young kittens, now old enough to play by themselves with the rest of the tribe's kits. The other kittens - like Alonzo and Cassandra - were approaching adulthood now but were still quite young yet. Bombalurina and Demeter, as well as Grizabella's own three kittens fell into this category, and were old enough to help the adult cats take care of the younger kittens; at least, that is, those who were responsible enough.

As Grizabella passed the kittens' play area she happened to see Alonzo and Macavity tussling with each other. Not that that was unusual. The tom kittens regularly tussled and "play" fought with each other, usually to show off to the other toms or to a certain queen kitten they had a crush on. Alonzo's natural competitive streak caused him to want to show off every chance he got and he was easily provoked, something which Macavity was very good at exploiting. So it wasn't uncommon for, when he couldn't get a fight out of Munkustrap, Macavity would choose to pick on his younger cousin and the two would fight it out in front of the rest of the kittens, the loser having to endure a week of good-natured but humiliating jeers from the rest of the kittens for not winning.

However, this particular fight was getting quite intense. The two young toms were really going at it this time, with paws swinging and black, white, and red fur flying it was hard to tell who was coming out on top. The rest of the kittens stood off cheering them on. Cassandra and her younger sister Exotica, who was making one of her rare public appearances, were on Alonzo's side and stood off to the side shooting him silent looks of encouragement. The younger tom kittens like Plato or Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, were shouting loudly and routing for whoever seemed to be winning at the moment, while Munkustrap was sitting against a mound of junk, watching his brother and cousin go at it with a look of amusement on his face. Bombalurina and Demeter were sitting next to the silver tabby, and Tugger, who had never had much of an interest in watching his older brothers fight, was curled up in an old sweater lightly dozing. The fight continued unceasingly, with neither tom kit showing signs of getting tired.

"Come on, come on!" Alonzo yelled, putting up his paws and waving them threateningly. "Put 'em up! Put 'em up! I can lick you!"

"You couldn't lick the dirt out of your paws." Macavity sneered, causing Alonzo to get even madder and fling himself at the ginger tom, starting off a new round of fighting.

Though she rarely took notice of the kittens' little squabbles or fights, Grizabella decided she probably better break this one up before her son and nephew hurt each other or someone else. Besides, Jennyanydots and Jellylorum were always challenging her to be more firm with her kittens, so why not show them that she was capable of doing so?

"Alright, break it up you two. That's enough." Grizabella huffed, as she wandered into the fracas and pulled the two sparring kittens apart. They were still swinging at each other and refused to stop, even when Grizabella shouted at them two. Both Alonzo and Macavity's little claws were coming awfully close to her and she realized that if she didn't do something to stop them, she just might end up with a few scratches on her own glamorous self. So, Grizabella did something she had never, ever done with her kittens before.

She raised her left paw and smacked Macavity, her oldest son, clean across the face, her own claws scratching him lightly on the cheek bone as both he and Alonzo stopped swinging and pulled back, a look of shock on both of their faces.

Grizabella let both kittens go and stepped back, also in shock at her bold disciplinary measure. She could feel the eyes of the other kittens boring into her, clearly taken aback by the out of character moment from the Glamour Cat. Even Tugger woke up and stared at his mother with a stunned expression on his face. Several seconds of awful silence elapsed, every cat present apparently frozen in time. Macavity's eyes flashed with anger and humiliation at being disciplined by his mother of all cats. Finally, Cassandra, out of all the kittens at the scene, decided to go against her normally quiet nature and speak her mind.

"Why don't you just go away and let us play the way we want to?" She said rudely, without raising her voice an octave. "You've never showed any concern for anyone else before."

Grizabella whirled and stared at the young Abyssinian kitten, who just looked back at her without a trace of emotion or regret on her face. Munkustrap looked appalled and stared at Cassandra with his mouth hanging open. He had never been very close to his mother, and generally held the opinion of the other kittens in the tribe that she didn't care about them at all, but he still was shocked at this display of insolence. After all, she was still their elder!

Grizabella continued to stare at Cassandra in disbelief, thinking her ears must have failed her. As she eventually looked around at the rest of the kittens, she could see them starting to snigger and laugh at her. Tugger even fluffed out his mane and sneered at his mother disrespectfully. Grizabella began to feel big hot tears prickle up in her eyes and threaten to spill over. The kittens began to laugh harder, except for Demeter, who was horrified by her friend's treatment and wanted to rush over and hug her, but Bombalurina held her back. Macavity had an unpleasant gleam of satisfaction in his eye, obviously happy that his mother was getting her recompense.

Finally, letting out a loud sob, Grizabella turned and fled towards her den, weeping bitter tears of anger and shame. The rest of the kittens, even Macavity, had their smiles wiped off their faces when they realized they had gone too far. They quickly went back to trying to appear casual and nonchalant as Jellylorum walked into the play area, with a confused expression etched clearly on her face.

"What happened here?" She demanded, looking around at the kittens, waiting for an answer.

Alonzo, who happened to like Cassandra, was quick to cover up for his crush. "Oh, nothing, Jelly. Everything's okay." he said, while Cassandra gave him a look that meant he would be in her good books for a while at least. Macavity nodded his head in agreement with the black and white splotched tom, though his conscience, something he had largely ignored, was reminding him that it was still there and pleading with him to tell the truth.

Jellylorum looked over at Munkustrap suspiciously, waiting for him to confirm Alonzo's statement, but the silver tabby just looked at his feet and said nothing. Even though he knew the right thing to do was to tell Jelly what had just occurred, he still couldn't help but think that Grizabella had heard just what she needed to hear and that it served her right. So he just continued to look at his feet while Jelly shrugged and went to check on Rumpelteazer for Jennyanydots. All the while Munkustrap could feel Demeter's eyes staring at him in disbelief, but he ignored them.

=^.^=

Meanwhile, Grizabella ran pell-mell into her den, threw herself down onto her bed, and continued to sob. Being dressed down right in front of the kittens was just too much. Adult cats were one thing when no one else was around, but kittens?! That was the last blow her already fragile ego could take.

Grizabella finally sniffed loudly and blew her nose into a handkerchief, before going over to the vanity to reapply her smudged make-up. She had made her decision. She was certain the rest of the tribe wouldn't like it but she had to do what she had to do. What had happened to her that afternoon was never going to happen again, not if Grizabella could help it. And she would finally get to live out her dream in the process.

=^.^=

That night there was quite a commotion over at the den that Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella jointly shared. Everybody looked at Grizabella in shock as she told them her final decision, all the while she gathered up her things – such as her cosmetics, and her brush, and her comb – and tied them up in a handkerchief. Her choice seemed too outrageous an idea to even be conceivable. None of them knew about what had gone on earlier that day because Grizabella hadn't told them. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

"You're what?!" exclaimed Jennyanydots.

"Ye're cannot be serious." Skimbleshanks blurted out.

"You ought to think about it first." Asparagus tried to reason with her.

"How could you?" Jellylorum demanded, her voice cloaked with anger and disappointment. She had never truly liked Grizabella and what she was hearing at the moment wasn't helping to improve her already low opinion of her.

Old Deuteronomy looked sadly down at his 10th (or was it 100th?) mate. "I think you are making a very big mistake, my dear."

Grizabella shifted uncomfortably. This wasn't turning out as well as she had hoped "Yes. I have decided to leave the Jellicle tribe and head out into the human world." She repeated. The cats in front of her stared, their mouths agape. She swallowed hard before going on. "I'm only going to be young for so long. I want to live it to the full while I still can. My owner, who you know is a famous actress, is going on an international tour and there is no telling when she'll be coming back, so I've decided to go with her. I'm going to become a famous showcat, and travel the world to far off places, like Paris, Rome, Moscow, maybe even the Americas!" she tried to look excited to rouse their spirits, but they just stared more intensely, obviously angered with her decision.

"You can't go out there! It's too dangerous!" Asparagus said, looking around to his friends for agreement.

"Please, don't be fooled by the stories I tell about the theater." Old Gus pleaded solemnly. "Those were truly wonderful days, but the best days I spent in all were after I retired; when came back here to live in the junkyard."

"This isn't your fault, Father." Jellylorum soothed. She turned and did her best to stare Grizabella down. The Glamour Cat fidgeted but did not waver.

"I'm going, and nobody's going to stop me." She declared, holding her head up high in an almost challenging way.

Bustopher Jones, who never really had anything to say about the things that happened in the junkyard, simply scoffed and went back to eating his winkles and shrimps.

"You have no idea what you getting yourself into." Jellylorum warned.

"You can live out your life to the fullest right here with all of us." Jennyanydots said.

But Grizabella had made up her mind. "That is enough!" she cried, throwing up her paws for emphasis. "I have decided to leave and follow my dreams. This is too big an opportunity to turn down. I'm not asking your permission. I just want you to know."

Old Deuteronomy still tried to convince her. "What about our kittens?" he asked. "They still aren't grown up yet. And they need their mother."

Grizabella froze at the mention of her kits. The memory of that afternoon was still fresh in her mind and her mate's comment did nothing to erase it. But she recovered quickly and looked into Old Deuteronomy's eyes, which were beginning to water.

"They've been raised enough by me." She said, more coldly than she meant to. "My mind is made up." She said, looking at all the cats who were staring at her, their faces a mixture of anger and pity. "I'm leaving now. This junkyard is no place for me to live out my life. I am known as the Glamour Cat. It's not right for such beauty to be cooped up here in this junkyard, when as a showcat I can show it to everybody and bring joy to millions of people."

The other cats mumbled their disagreement. There was the self-centered Grizabella coming out. Old Deuteronomy silenced them and turned to face his mate, for possibly the last time.

"Are you absolutely sure, my dear? I urge you to rethink your decision. Leaving your family will not solve anything and you might be able to avoid serious regrets later on." Deuteronomy said the words in such a heartfelt tone that every cat present felt it.

Grizabella felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart, looking up into her mate's sorrowful eyes. But she was too proud to back down now.

"I'm leaving, and that's all there is to it." The angry looks she was getting from the other cats made it clear that she would not be welcome in the Jellicle Junkyard anymore. But that didn't matter. After all, she was leaving and never coming back, right?

Grizabella tied her final belongings in the handkerchief and put it on a stick (the way all runaways do). She then walked out of the den with her head held high, feeling the daggers being stared into her back. Jennyanydots had laid a comforting paw on Old Deuteronomy's shoulder and glared at Grizabella as she exited. All the other cats felt the same way: bitter and angry. What right did Grizabella have to claim that they were holding her back and that she needed to live her own life? She had acted as if they were a burden of some kind. That was some treatment for the tribe that had been her closest family up till now.

No sooner had Grizabella come out of the den when she heard a questioning voice talking to her.

"Auntie Griz?" Grizabella looked own and saw Demeter with Bombalurina. "Where are you going?" Grizabella suddenly felt as if her heart was about to break as he knelt down in front of the little kitten.

"I'm leaving to go out and see the world." She said, trying to make her voice sound excited. "I'm going to become a famous showcat and bring glamour and joy to millions of people. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Demeter still looked confused, by she nodded nonetheless. "Yes, I guess so."

"Good." Grizabella said, leaving no room for further discussion. "Now you be a good kitten now and mind your mummy now, you hear?" Demeter nodded again.

"You too, Bomba?" she asked the older queen. "Oh sure, Griza, sure." Bombalurina said immediately. She was awfully mixed up. The adult cats had caused quite a stir over and the kittens were now coming out to see what was going on. Why was Grizabella leaving all of a sudden? It didn't make any sense. Demeter however, looked enthralled as Grizabella described the things she was going to see and the people she was going to meet, almost appearing envious that she couldn't go along and enjoy all these wonderful things too.

She turned around and saw that Old Deuteronomy, followed by the other cats, had exited the den to watch her go. He was looking at her with such sad pleading eyes that Grizabella suddenly felt horrible for what she was just about to do. But it was too late to reconsider, and dropping her eyes from her mate's sight she turned and fled towards the junkyard gate.

As she ran, she was suddenly tackled by Munkustrap, who clutched on to one of her legs. Grizabella rolled her eyes. She had no time for this right now.

"Please, please, Mother, don't go." He pleaded pitifully. "Please don't go. Stay here and be our mother." Grizabella felt her other leg grabbed by Tugger, who like his brother was acting like a little kitten again, begging and pleading with her not to leave.

"Now listen, you two. I don't have time for this nonsense. Now your mother is going to become one of the most famous cats of all time. All you have to do is stay here and act like good little toms. You'll probably be hearing about me by and by." Grizabella tried to wrench her legs out from her kitten's grasp, but they wouldn't let go.

"But if you leave, Mother, you might not be able to come back. What if something were to happen to you?" Unable to help himself, Munkustrap buried his head in his mother's fur and clung to it as if life itself depended on it. Grizabella secretly felt remorse for what she was about to do, but it was too late to turn back. She was just going to have to deal with it from here.

"Now stop it, both of you." Grizabella said huffily, pushing her two sons away. "I know the tribe is not going to welcome me back, but frankly, I don't think I'll want to come back, I'll be so successful. Goodbye forever, my sons." She said solemnly, trying to mask her guilt for being so cruel as she walked toward the junkyard exit without looking back at all her friends and family that were watching her go.

"Please, please, Mother, don't leave us." But Grizabella pressed onwards and shifting her bag to her other shoulder and pretended not to hear her sons' cries. All the other cats watched her leave, each feeling a blend of pain, rage, sadness, pity, and rejection that tore them apart inside and out, having no idea what to do next.

Demeter hung over to the side, huddling next to Bombalurina. What Grizabella had told her sounded great, but if it was so great, why was everybody looking so unhappy? She wasn't even sure whether she ought to cry or not. Bombalurina was fighting back tears, and was personally relieved her sister wasn't sobbing her heart out, for she wouldn't have known how to comfort her. Alonzo crept over, looking to comfort them, but Bombalurina pushed him away. The black and white tom looked over to Tugger and Munkustrap for help, but the two brothers were feeling worse than anyone else present. Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots walked over and sadly led the two back to the clearing.

Macavity held back in the shadows, refusing to show himself and burning with hurt and anger. He had always caused more than enough problems for both his parents, but he had never truly meant any harm in them. Even that afternoon he hadn't meant for anything to happen, to his mother or anyone else. Either way, his mischief sure wasn't any ground for his mother to abandon him. Grizabella's lax parenting had allowed him to get away with practically anything he wanted to, and he had executed that freedom to the highest degree. He let himself disappear into the shadows of the junkyard, willing no one to feel his pain. He was too proud for that.

Grizabella reached the gate of the junkyard, and was just about to swing it open when she heard a soft, soothing voice calling out to her. It was the voice of Old Deuteronomy, and it said:

"I'll always love you, my dear. No matter how far you go, no matter what things you do, I will always love you. The other cats may hate you for this decision you have made, but I never will."

Grizabella sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, and looked up at the moon, which was shining unusually bright that night. Then she kicked open the gate and left behind the place that had been her home since kittenhood; the home that she would not see again for a long, long time.

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